Some would argue that times were simpler 30 years ago. I don’t know about that, but I can assert that developing and maintaining source code were. In the early years of Collection-Master (still often referred to as CLS by our long-time clients), Q-Law, and YGC/vExchange, we would unwittingly patch the source code as needed. In real-time.

As the systems have matured, real-time patching has become increasingly risky and problematic often resulting in unintended additional costs and technical problems for the client. So as Vertican has matured, we’ve worked hard to develop quality code that helps prevent issues at the root.  And we’ve developed practices that curb real-time patching.

Yet, at times, clients impulsively bring Vertican into projects where we then face the dilemma of how to fix their “urgent problem” without superseding proper planning and testing. This lassos both Vertican and our client to exchange quality for time.

Tight spots like this can usually be avoided if Vertican is brought in sooner. Sure, we’re not averse to making critical code changes when issues truly come up at the last minute. With that being said, the sooner clients bring Vertican into the conversation the better it is for EVERYONE. If not, we’re dealing with ultimatums neither of us want to be in.

Tradeoffs Don’t End Well

Vertican Chief Strategy Officer, and industry veteran, Luis Gomez, often quips that while we can accommodate urgent code changes or enhancements, clients often expect the result to be GOOD, FAST, and CHEAP. But Luis explains they can realistically pick only two. For example:

Fast and cheap are rarely a combination that work. But they are a good recipe for bugs or other issues that cost everyone more money in the long run (defeats the whole purpose, right?). Failure to plan, rushing, and not allowing adequate time to review and test always lead to a vicious cycle of patching.

Good and fast sound like a win-win on paper. This option will always cost you money up front … aaand then again later because, like Band-Aids, releasing a quick patch without proper QA, will eventually cause wounds to reopen.  And it won’t be cheap.

Why would you want to be faced with having to choose from the lesser of two evils? Tradeoffs simply do not end well. We must stop undermining innovation and expertise with so-called quick and simple software fixes. Yes, time is money. But when it comes to software innovation and development, patience is more than a virtue; it’s a key ingredient to better quality.

Concessions Pay Out in the Long-term

Vertican is always working to improve our software development life cycle (SDLC) and overall practices.

We are committed to delivering value as an expected experience every time. This commitment doesn’t come cheap or fast. It means longer periods of time between product release cycles and it means investing more time, resources, and money in the right places – for Vertican and our clients. We are shifting to give greater priority to deliver updates that have been thoroughly tested thus minimizing the potential for bugs, rather than rushing out updates with a higher risk of failure. And the more we consistently deliver bug-free software, the stronger the trust, value, and integrity of our products and the more compliant and profitable our clients will be.

If You Don’t Know, You Don’t Know

Still, a common disconnect we experience with clients is when they don’t know what they don’t know, they don’t take advantage of resources, and they don’t think that Vertican has their backs. For example, a Collection-Master client recently lost a key employee, so they reached out to Nicholas Arcaro, SVP of Business Development, to discuss an action plan to get their firm up to speed. It’s great that the client was proactive. To start, Nick led them to the Vertican Help Center and all its extensive resources. The client had NO idea that the Help Center existed, even though we publish articles about it, link to it from our communications, reference it in our Mastermind sessions (we even hosted a Mastermind session about it), etc.

It’s not uncommon to see our medium to larger firms perpetuate a disconnect between the lead system operators and the attorneys who own the firms. That’s one of the major reasons we’ve expanded our Account Management team who can collaborate with both your operations and management teams. We’re working harder than ever to partner with each client so they can leverage our services and powerful products better. There’s nothing we want more than for you to use our technology, innovation, and industry expertise to make life easier.

For example, our clients’ clients frequently require enhancements and changes to DTPs. It can be challenging when we don’t have a direct way to collaborate with Senders and must resort to a back-and-forth method of communication – with the law firms caught in the middle. Information often gets misinterpreted or lost in translation.

A Vertican-Receiver-Sender partnership maximizes success

On top of the pressure to implement changes that are either fast and cheap or good and fast, our clients (and their clients) must understand that any hasty code enhancements we make to our products, even to accommodate Sender-driven timelines, could have unintended impacts to other firms thus affecting everyone who uses the DTP.

Then, Vertican must pull resources away from previously scheduled projects. Although we require written confirmation from Senders before making programming changes, we are constrained by the lack of direct communication. So keep in mind that every urgent need or special request becomes a ripple affecting everyone downstream.

We are working to build better relationships with Senders so at the very least they include Vertican when they initiate enhancements. Our clients can help us bridge this gap by proactively bringing us into the conversation sooner – much sooner.

Open the Lines of Communication and Minimize Bugs

It all comes down to mutual commitment and partnership. Keep in mind, this also means using our products they way are designed – because they are designed to maximize your collection revenue. Bugs can come from a lot of places, but when we introduce more variables and we break our own rules, we invite mistakes, which can also create compliance issues at the very least.

We may still break our own rules under extraordinary circumstances, but that will not happen due to a belated invitation to meet with the Sender/law firm team.

Vertican remains steadfast in upholding our own internal standards and core values. While this approach may not always be the most convenient, as it may occasionally slow down the product update process and SDLC, it ultimately ensures a higher level of reliability. So, would you prefer a product update that is released fast but has a higher chance of issues or a reliable update that is thoroughly tested and released at longer intervals to maximize your success?

Yea, me too.